All for Erza
by Velgamidragon
Summary: Prince Jellal first met Erza Knightwalker when they were kids. She was his personal guard, his combat instructor, and his first friend and they were always there for each other. Jellal never once imagined there would be a day when he would leave her.
1. Fated Meeting

All for Erza

**Author's Note: Tada! My first ever multi-chapter fic for Fairy Tail! My plan is to upload a new chapter each month so that I will have time to write said chapters. I love Mystwalker so much. *O***

**Disclaimer: The idea for this fic is the product of my imagination and Fairy Tail is product of Hiro Mashima. This is the only disclaimer I shall write for this fic because it applies to future chapters as well.**

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><p><strong>Fated Meeting<strong>

He had been so young when he had first met her, maybe four years old at the time, but fifteen years later, he could still recall it as clearly as if it were yesterday, even if he remembered nothing else about that day. His mother, the sociable and lively pink-haired queen, had still been alive then and he had spent most of the evening with her, hiding behind her dress from all the important-looking people who had attended the ball and wanted to stare at him. He still didn't understand how this was a ball since he didn't see any, just a bunch of people dancing. Nonetheless, he had been separated from his mother and introduced to the girl by his father, King Faust. She looked like she was his age and his father told him that she was of the Knightwalker clan. He knew of them. They had quite a long history of generals and war-heroes, but this didn't impress him much. What struck him the most about the girl was her hair, her very pretty scarlet-red hair. He would never forget it.

"Prince, I am Erza Knightwalker, daughter of General Lord Laxus Knightwalker," the redhead said as she got down on her knees and bowed her head, "It is my honor to serve you. I will do everything in my power to protect you, or die trying."

The blue-haired prince tilted his head slightly as he stared at the girl kneeling prostrate before him. This girl, she... she wasn't going to become a part of his personal guard, was she? "Th-There's no need for that-"

"You insult me, my Lord," she interrupted him forcefully and her head shot up to glare at him with her hazel eyes, "You don't understand what a tremendous honor it is to serve under the royal family!" Then her eyes widened in horror and she dropped her head again, "Forgive my outburst, your Majesty. You may punish me in a manner befitting of my crime."

Before the prince could wrap his head around what had just happened, his father started laughing and he clapped his hand on the General's shoulder and said, "You've trained your daughter mighty well, Lord Laxus. If only my own Jellal were so rigorously trained as well." Said prince froze and stared up at his father in confusion. What did he mean by that? Did he do something wrong?

"Nonsense, your Highness," Lord Laxus said with a casual wave of his hand, "I'm merely training her for the position that she is to accede to, a general of your royal army at the very least. Your son will inherit a far more different position that will have to account for many aspects of governing besides the militia." Jellal had long-since stopped listening, though the fear of disappointment still gripped him. His attention was back on the girl in front of him.

"My punishment?" she prompted, her voice a little impatient.

She _wanted_ punishment? That didn't make any sense so Jellal shook his head, "No punishment."

Erza raised her head once more, looking outraged, "That is unacceptable! I _must_ be punished!"

Jellal didn't know any kids his own age and he wasn't very familiar with people being mad at him unless that person was his father. She hadn't done anything wrong as far as he could tell (for that had to be why she wanted to be punished). So Jellal drew in a deep breath and said, as importantly as he could, "I order you to forgive yourself." Her angry expression changed and now she looked confused. "I am the prince, right? If you want to serve me, then you have to follow my orders. So I'm ordering you to forgive yourself," he explained, "If you forgive yourself, then you won't have to be punished, right?"

Erza looked flustered and she tried to think of a comeback, but couldn't. "I... that is, you..."

She stopped when Jellal held his hand out to her and smiled jovially at her, "Let's be friends, Erza."

Erza didn't quite know how to react. Some part of her wanted to accept his hand, but... this couldn't be allowed. This seemed like too informal a gesture. Surely this wouldn't be acceptable. It couldn't be. But... as she stared into his sincere, green eyes, she couldn't help herself. She reached out and took hold of his proffered hand. If Jellal had been smiling before, he was positively beaming now and his smile was so infectious, that even Erza's lips twitched upward slightly. He had made his first friend.

Their fathers had fallen silent to watch the exchange between their children and when Erza took Jellal's hand, Laxus elbowed Faust in the side with a meaningful wink and a smirk. Nobody but Laxus would have been able to get away with such a gesture towards his Highness, but they had been friends for a long time and the Knightwalker clan had been loyal to the throne of Edolas since the commencement of the Nebrin (the current) Dynasty after the Rehv-Quess Rebellion of X552, 217 years ago. Years ago, half-jokingly, they had discussed a possible future alliance between the House of Nebrin and the House of Knightwalker. It didn't seem like such a far-fetched thought anymore.

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><p><em>And thus, the adorable Prince of Edolas meets Erza Knightwalker. My God, they are too cute! XD I decided to make Edo-Laxus be Knightwalker's father because the anime seemed to allude that Faust might have been the Edo-Makarov, so it fit to me. Besides, having Edo-Laxus being Knightwalker's father makes the Mystogan vs Laxus battle (and the conversation before about Scarlet) even more interesting, yes? XD It would be like Laxus (Knightwalker) saying that his daughter is weak and Mystogan would be defending his girl from her father's criticisms.<em>


	2. The First Combat Lesson

**The First Combat Lesson**

It wasn't too long after Prince Jellal had met Erza Knightwalker that he made yet another friend, Ultear Berso, who was a good friend of Erza's. She was two years older than them and she was the daughter of one of the nobles, Lady Ur. Jellal knew her. She was a scary lady that always wore a long overcoat, like she was cold all the time. For all he knew, she might have been and he'd shivered as soon as the name had passed the nearly-black-haired girl's lips when she revealed the relation Yet, the more Ultear talked, the more he began to like her. She was nice and really sweet and he wondered how Ultear could be this nice when she had such a scary mother.

When Erza had suggested they head to the training grounds, Ultear had happily obliged her and he had been a little hard-pressed to keep up, but they never stayed out of his sight for too long. He even caught Erza looking back to make sure he was keeping up and he got the feeling that he wasn't supposed to notice because she immediately turned her head to face forward again. When they reached the training grounds, Jellal was amazed by the shear vastness of the area and the number of available weapons to choose from, most of which he had never seen before and a fair number he couldn't even begin to guess how they'd be used. Erza was already making herself at home in one of the sparring arenas, stretching out her arms, legs, and back, her short red hair whipping around her face and brushing against her shoulders. Ultear joined her and after some short stretching of her own, grabbed a weapon, a short sword, with nothing more than a quick glance-over (Erza had already chosen hers, a spear), before charging at Erza!

Jellal panicked, wondering what had come over the dark brown-haired girl, but Erza didn't seem worried at all. In fact, she charged to meet the challenge directly, blocking Ultear's jab and turning a thrust of her own at her unprotected left leg; a thrust that was missed by a quick side-step on Ultear's part which caused Erza to lose her balance and Ultear stabbed downward only to have her feet swept out from under her by Erza. It continued as such and Jellal could only watch with helpless fascination as his two new friends traded blows and parries and jabs and thrusts, but also with a great amount of trepidation. What if they missed and gave each other serious injuries?They were so serious and more than once, Jellal hissed in fear when a blade or spear point came too close to striking distance for comfort's sake.

It had only lasted about five minutes, but it had felt like several hours to the young prince when the girls finally ended their sparring match with a truce, both panting and sweating slightly. As Ultear dried her face with a spare towel, Erza turned to stare at him and he jumped a little. She was looking at him so intensely. What did she want with him?

Then she smirked and jerked her head at him, gesturing him to join her. "Come on, Prince. Show me what you've got. Even royalty must stay in top form."

Jellal felt like he'd been rooted in place. She wanted him to fight her. But... he bit his lip and fidgeted nervously.

"What's the matter?" Erza asked, her voice dropping a little with impatience, "You're not scared, are you?"

"N-No..." Jellal denied and his cheeks colored in embarrassment, "It's just... I... I don't know how to fight," he mumbled finally.

The silence that followed was even more deafening than his father at his angriest. Her bangs hid her eyes, but her posture was tense as she seethed. "You..." Erza muttered quietly, her voice so angry that for a moment, Jellal feared that she might actually kill him. But he saw none of that anger in her eyes when she raised her head again. "You have a pathetic education, Prince. Come here!" she ordered and her hazel eyes flashed as she pointed her spear at him, "I will teach you how to fight! I will not have the future King of Edolas be a lazy weakling who can't even protect himself should he be attacked! Your duty is to your country and you can't do that if you're dead! I said come!"

Jellal didn't come immediately, which succeeded in deepening her increasing ire, and then he gazed at her with a mischievous smile on his face. "If you're going to be my combat instructor, then you need to call me by my name."

Ultear's sword fell with a clatter at her feet and Erza's jaw dropped in shock for the second time that week before she began to splutter, "Th-That's absurd! No, that's blasphemy! I can't call you by your birth name!" Accepting a handshake was one thing. Calling the prince by his name was another altogether!

Jellal's smile widened and turned into a challenging smirk. "That's my one and only condition, Erza. That's all I ask. Oh, and Ultear, this extends to you too."

"WHAT! How did _I_ get roped into this? ! !" Ultear exclaimed indignantly, but neither of them were listening to her.

Erza gritted her teeth as she glared at the prince who was looking oh so smug at the moment. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid smirk off his face and show him just who he was messing with, but he was the prince and harming him in a way that wasn't instructional was against her duty and vow as a loyal member of the Knightwalker clan.

Without warning, the smirk disappeared off his face and was replaced by a soft, sad smile. "Come on, Erza. Is saying my name really such a bad thing? It's who I am."

Maybe it was his plaintive words or the sad smile on his face that got her, but in the end, she had scowled and with an upturned nose, she said, "Fine, just get your butt over here Jellal! You're wasting time standing over there!"

There it was. That same beaming, elated smile that she had seen not a week ago when she had accepted his hand in friendship. The smile that she couldn't resist wanting to mimic. Did it really please him that much for her to call him by his name? In later years when she had the time to look back on this period of her life, she would realize that he had probably been an extremely lonely child before he'd met her, but not now. She was too young to think such things. All she knew was that, though his smile warmed her, she was still going to make him pay for this. Jellal knew that he was in for it and that Erza wasn't going to go easy on him just because he was new and the prince, but he didn't mind. For once, he had someone who would treat him as an equal. That wouldn't be for a while yet and even though Jellal was so sore he could barely move once she'd finished with him, he would master what she'd taught him and become strong. They would grow strong together and he would make her proud that he was the heir to the throne of Edolas.

Meanwhile, as Erza began her 'kill drill' (that was what Ultear called it, anyway) on the prince, Ultear tracked their movements with increasing interest, admiring the fact that the prince was still enthusiastically-willing to face her though she was practically beating him senseless. Immediately, her gray eyes became dark and mischievous and she murmured secretively under her breath, "He liiiiiiikes her."

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><p><em>I couldn't resist that bit at the end! Happy always said them after compliments given or when a serious, significant moment passed! Not to mention, that Ultear Milkovich is such a Jerza shipper, so why not make Ultear Berso a Mystwalker shipper? :P And I just love the irony of making Jellal, Erza, and Ultear be best friends. I think in different circumstances, it might have been possible, though. As of episode 116, I started sorta-liking Ultear, but after the latest episode I finished, 120, I'm <em>_**really**__ liking her and her character changes ("I have been given a new lease on life" GAH! So beautiful and it doesn't help that I'm such a sucker for character development! .) Grr, I'm hating the Tenrou arc so much for making me start liking Laxus and Ultear._


	3. The Other Parent

**The Other Parent**

It was about half a year later when Jellal met Erza's mother, Lady Evergreen Raijinshu; the occasion having been the green-dressed woman had been escorting her younger brothers, the Head of the Raijinshu clan, Lord Fried (a world-class flirt rumored to have a huge harem full of sexy women), and the younger Baron Bixlow (an arrogant scholar who despised loud, disruptive noises), to the king's court to discuss matters of foreign policy and national security along their borders with the southern nation of Arbers. Jellal knew this because Erza had told him so and he and Erza had been walking down the corridor when the Raijinshu trio has passed them, Lady Evergreen barely acknowledging her own daughter, but bowing before the prince (her brothers following her example) while Erza had bowed her head as they passed. Only when they were far enough away did she raise her head again and stare after them before feeling another's intense gaze on her and turned to look at Jellal. His green eyes were looking at her questioningly.

Erza only sighed and shook her head. "Not everyone has mothers that care for their children," she offered by way of explanation, hoping that he would just let it go.

He didn't.

"I know that not all marriages are happy," Jellal said quietly. She knew he spoke from personal experience, "But mothers should still love their children."

He was so naïve, but she couldn't blame him. Jellal knew nothing of fatherly affection. All his attempts to please his father always seemed to fall short of the king's expectations and Ultear didn't even have a father to speak of. Even Lady Ur, as scary as she knew her friend thought her to be, had her super-motherly moments (that Jellal had also been privy to witnessing). The idea of a mother _not_ loving her offspring was too foreign a concept for him.

"They should, Jellal," she admitted, trying to ignore the pang of envy that she felt for her royal friend, "but that's not the way the world works. My mother was the daughter of the leader of a group of people trying to rebel against Edolas, and the second-in-command too. My father defeated them, but it had been difficult. He executed her father and I guess he admired her skill in battle which is not common for noble women, mind you, and so he gave her an ultimatum. Either she marry him or her brothers, who were indirectly supporting her cause by supplying provisions, would face the same fate as their father. She chose the former. That is all."

"Erza..."

Before he could even begin, they heard footsteps walking towards them in the direction they were headed and it wasn't long before they saw Ultear turn the corner. Her head was bowed, her cheeks were puffy, and she was wiping her eyes like she'd been crying. It seemed she hadn't noticed them because when she did, she gasped and took an involuntary step backwards.

"Y-You two...!" she stammered, looking extremely guilty about something.

"Ultear, what's wrong?" Jellal asked before Erza could get a word in as he moved to the older girl's side, "Why are you crying?"

"It's... It's nothing..." Ultear said finally.

"Tears are not shed for 'nothing'," Erza told her bluntly, but not harshly. Jellal was learning to recognize the difference in her voice between harsh and gentle. "I don't care all that much, it's your business, but Jellal isn't gonna stop pestering you until you tell."

"Hey!" said prince protested.

Ultear looked at the redhead funny. She sounded like she spoke from experience. She probably had. When the brunette looked at Jellal again, the concern he held for her in his green eyes made her want to cry again. "It's just..." she began, twining her fingers around the white fabric of her dress, "It's just that today... It's the day that Dad left Mom," she finished quietly.

Both of their eyes widened in shock. They had just assumed that her dad had died. They hadn't realized he'd chosen to leave her mother. It explained why Lady Ur had looked so sad at breakfast this morning. Erza clenched her hand into a fist angrily as she pictured herself punching this no-good father in the face for abandoning his family and making her friend cry like this, as Ultear once again fell into tearful hysterics. That was when two arms wrapped around them, one arm for each girl and they were pulled into a three-way embrace by none other than their dear friend Jellal, their prince, the heir apparent.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled quietly into their ears and they both gaped at him. What in Edolas was he apologizing for? "I'm sorry that you have a rotten father, Ultear. I'm sorry that your mother doesn't care for you like she should, Erza. I'm sorry, but it'll be okay. I'll be here for you if they won't."

Ultear sniffled once before she clung even tighter to Jellal, sobbing heavily into his left shoulder while Erza wanted to smack him upside the head. How could he say things like that? It wasn't fair. She wanted to tell him that too, but she couldn't. Jellal didn't exactly have the best relationship with his father any more than they did with one of their parents, but she couldn't say anything. His father was the king. To speak out against him would be heresy. So she kept her mouth shut even though she wanted to scream in frustration, and she hugged him tighter. She suddenly felt tears against her right cheek, but her eyes were dry. Confused, Erza pulled away slightly and saw that Jellal was crying! The tears were slipping from his right eye and cascading over the elaborate red tattoo patterned across the right side of his face.

"J-Jellal! Why are _you_ crying!" Erza demanded and to her dismay, Jellal gave her a feeble, apologetic smile.

"Because you won't cry, Erza, I'm crying for you," he explained.

Once again, within a span of less than five minutes, Erza wanted to smack him.

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><p><em>I decided to post this up today as a reward to myself for having completed all of my final exams! XD And it features some angsty sorta-not-quite-Mystwalker (but only because they're still kids. :P) lol, I seem to have a theme going on here. In Earthland Fairy Tail, most everyone is parentless and in my version of Edolas, a lot of the hierarchy children have one rotten parent. Yeah, I know, I fail. ^^'<em>


	4. Pantherlily

**Pantherlily**

There was nothing to indicate that day that something significant was going to happen. No sign, no warning, nothing. Not even the weather decided to give a premonition that the events of this day would forever change their lives. Jellal was now six years old and today, he was spending it with his mother by helping her pick apples from the trees in the royal gardens. They didn't have to, but they enjoyed it, especially Jellal, for he absolutely adored the fruits. It came as no surprise that fall was his favorite season for this reason. Jellal only wished that he was a little bigger so that his mother didn't have to climb the tall ladder to reach the apples higher up in the tree. The least he could do was hold the ladder steady for her.

"So what are you going to do with these apples when we're done picking them, Jellal?" his mother asked as she began to descend the ladder with another basket filled with apples.

Jellal's face lit up brightly and said immediately, "I'll probably eat some of them, but I think that I'd like to make apple pie out of them. Oh, and maybe apple cider too! Will you teach me how to make them? I'm old enough now, aren't I?"

"Yes, I think you're old enough that I can teach you now," Mother said with a gentle smile at her enthusiastic son.

Jellal's expression turned pensive for a moment before he asked, "Mother, isn't one of the Exceed supposed to be coming today?"

"Yes, the Queen's Emissary," she confirmed, "His name is Pantherlily and he's quite unlike any other Exceed I've ever met."

"Do you... Do you think he'll like apples too?" Jellal asked her with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

"You darling boy," Queen Porlyusica gushed over her son as she reached the ground and ruffled her son's blue hair affectionately, "I don't think Pantherlily would mind at all if you offered them to him. Now, would you like to go up there and pick some of the apples off the lower branches?"

"Would I ever! Thank you Mother!" Jellal exclaimed in gratitude as he hugged his mother's legs for a moment before scurrying up the ladder.

"Just be careful, dear. And be sure your cloak covers your shoulders, some of those branches can be sharp if you run into them."

"Yes, Mother," Jellal said automatically as he tightened the strings holding the light green cloak around his neck and covering his body, specifically his back.

He had just reached for the first apple when it all happened. His mother let out a strangled cry and before he could look down to see what had happened, the ladder was pushed sideways and he was falling with it. In a panic, he grabbed for the branches, but they were just beyond his reach and he could only watch in terror as the ground quickly came up to him. Jellal hit the ground on his side, his shoulder taking the brunt of the impact, but he still struck it so hard that his head was jarred into the ground as well and he was left momentarily breathless.

"M-Mother...?" he called weakly when a shadow loomed over him and roughly hauled him up into the air by his shirt collar. He couldn't breathe, but when he saw the face of the one who'd picked him up, he gasped. A pair of familiar blue eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses gazed down at him. "Lady Evergreen..."

The light brown-haired woman sighed and gazed at him with an odd expression on her face that Jellal didn't recognize, "This is almost too easy. All that effort that my little warrior daughter put into training you amounted to nothing more than this."

Before he knew it, Evergreen had flung him sideways and his head collided into the jagged edge of a huge rock and pain exploded behind his eyes causing him to cry out. When he moved his hand to the back of his head to apply pressure to the wound, he felt a sticky substance coating his hair and figured he was bleeding. He knew he needed to move, but he couldn't see properly through the pain and he was confused and scared. Why was Evergreen doing this to him? And where was his mother? Jellal tried to open his eyes, but only managed a fraction and his vision was extremely blurry. He had just caught sight of his mother's pink hair on the ground when Evergreen blocked his view and picked him up again, this time by his neck. He couldn't breathe, she was choking him! But why! Why! He tried to pry her fingers away to give him a little reprieve, but her grip was too strong! WHY! !

Evergreen smiled. A dark sinister smile as she gazed upon the struggling prince. "Revenge is a sweet thing indeed," she said darkly, "Not only will the failure to protect the Queen and Prince of Edolas completely crush my Edolas-loyalty-obsessed husband and daughter, but Edolas will be without a direct heir and the entire country will be thrown into turmoil over who will succeed the king when he passes away. Blood, death, and revolution will soak through the land and thousands will be slaughtered over their greed for the royal throne!" Evergreen ranted, her voice rising in crescendo with her excitement along with the tightening of her grip on the prince's neck, eliciting another pained gasp from the boy who resumed his fervent struggle, "And to think that it will all be your fault just for being born the king's son. I'll make sure your dying moments are filled with nothing but absolute terror, knowing what will happen to you and yet being unable to stop it. Farewell Prince of Edolas."

Jellal found himself thrown away again, but he didn't crash into anything this time and he was coughing, still trying to get his breathing back. The pain in his head still hurt like crazy, so he couldn't open his eyes, but he already knew that he had been in the air too long. He should have hit the ground by now. Reluctantly, fearing what he might see, he opened his eyes as much as he could... and saw nothing but sky below. Absolutely terrified, he looked back behind him and saw just what he feared. The Royal City was falling far behind him, but how! The palace gardens were nowhere near the edge of the City and Evergreen wasn't _that_ strong! She had to have teleported him to the edge with some kind of magic, but that didn't matter now! He was too scared to scream. He was going to die! There was no-one who could save him and his head was still pounding heavily. It hurt to keep his eyes open and he was losing his senses. He couldn't hold on for much longer. Maybe death would claim him before he woke up again. Then maybe it wouldn't be as scary to die.

()()()()()()

The largest Exceed of Extalia, Pantherlily, could finally being to distinguish the individual buildings of the Royal City of the humans when he sensed a temporal shift and could just barely make out the appearance of... something falling away from the island city. The wind was blowing towards him and he caught a whiff of the scent of blood, human blood... Without a second's hesitation, Pantherlily folded his wings in and dropped into a steep dive towards the falling something, following it with his eyes, but also the blood scent. When he was close enough, he spread his wings to slow his speed and glided the rest of the way to the, what he could now see was a tiny human, and caught it gently in his black-furred arms. With an upbeat of his powerful wings, Pantherlily soared back upwards and landed on the edge of the closest floating island. Once safely-landed, Pantherlily released his hold on the child and gently lowered him down to the ground to take a better look at him.

He was extremely young, he could tell, not much bigger than most full-grown Exceed. The boy's face was contorted with pain though he didn't seem to be conscious and he had a peculiar red tattoo or birthmark splayed across the entire right side of his face. His fur- no, humans called it 'hair'- color was also a little strange by human standards. Bright blue with exception to the red that stained a great portion of the back of his head. A quick sniff confirmed that that was where the injury was located and was the source of the blood and Pantherlily picked up the boy again, cradling him gently in his arms so as not to aggravate the injury further. He took a quick glance at the Royal City as he passed it on his way back to Extalia and gave a silent apology to the royal family and his queen. He knew very well that it was bad form to be late for important meetings, but this couldn't wait. The child's blood, his life, was still seeping out of his head and onto his own muscular forearm. It didn't matter that the boy was a human and not an Exceed like himself. He was still just an injured child and whether Exceed or human, all life was precious. He could not let a single one be wasted. It simply wasn't in his nature to do so. The humans might be more lenient with him as he was saving one of their own, but his own kind... He could only pray that Queen Shagotte and the Council of Elders would understand.

Upon arriving at his home in Extalia, Pantherlily set the young one on a soft rug in his living room with a spare towel against the back of his head to stem the blood flow a little while he prepared some warm water. Once finished, he brought the water basin and a clean cloth to the boy and propped him up with his leg so that he could see the head wound. Dipping the cloth into the basin and ringing it out, he dabbed at the boy's hair around where his hair was reddest to see better and examined the wound. It was a nasty-looking thing, but it didn't seem to be too deep. That was fortunate, but he had still lost a lot of blood, his skin was quite pale. Pantherlily continued to dab at the wound with the warm water until he'd cleaned away all the dry blood and done his best to clean it out of the boy's hair as well, a feat not so easily accomplished.

Once satisfied that he'd done the best he could, the big black cat withdrew a small vial from within the folds of his robes and poured a small pinch of the powered substance onto the wound before adding three drops of water as well. The powder dissolved within the water and Pantherlily began to wrap a gauze bandage tightly around the young one's head, careful not to catch his ears. The powder he'd just placed upon the boy's wound wasn't magic, but it worked like it. It was grounded from the leaves of the keno bushes that grew abundantly near swampy waters. It wasn't all that powerful; the only thing it did was promote skin growth and it took anywhere from ten minutes to an hour depending on the severity of the skin damage. However, having it on hand was quite helpful in a pinch for shallow wounds in preventing them from getting infected because they also contained special antibodies to help fight off possible invaders while the body started to quickly assemble the necessary platelets to patch the skin. The skin should heal just fine, but Pantherlily was still worried about the boy's blood loss and hoped that it hadn't been too much.

He had put it off long enough, there was no getting around it. He had not arrived at the Royal City and checked in with the Council of Elders back here to let them know he had arrived, so they were already aware that he had not reached his intended destination. He would explain things as they were, there was no getting around it. Gently lifting the boy into his arms once again, he carried him with him to the palace where the Council of Elders resided. He was Pantherlily, the Queen's Emissary and thus, one of the select few who knew the truth of the Exceeds' power. Nobody stopped him as he passed through the corridors, but many uneasy eyes stared at his retreating back after he passed and the whispers increased, but he ignored them. Their opinions didn't matter to him. They never had. He entered the throne room and his presence drew the attention of the Elders.

"Lily, what are you doing back here?" one of them, a short periwinkle blue cat, demanded angrily.

"You're supposed to be meeting with the human king on behalf of her Majesty, Queen Shagotte!" said another.

"My deepest apologies, my good men," Pantherlily said as he approached closer still. He wasn't within polite speaking distance yet. "But upon arriving at the Royal City, I came upon this child in need of my aide," he said upon arriving at a respectable distance and knelt down on one knee, bowing before the queen and the elders.

They finally noticed the child in his arms and there were several collective gasps of fear among them. "Lily!" a different one exclaimed as though he had been personally offended, "Why did you save a human!"

"Because the child was seriously wounded..." Pantherlily responded simply, a grave note in his voice.

"Fool!" one of the taller ones with the staff shouted, "Bringing that... _thing_ [Pantherlily was sorely tempted to knock his lights out right then and there for saying such a thing] to Extalia is a grave offense!"

"However, I must help the injured, even if they be human," Pantherlily explained with calm reasoning.

He understood _why_ the law existed better than most of the other Exceed. It was simply a matter of national security. If the humans found out that they had no true power at all, they wouldn't hesitate to wipe them out and crush them under the heel of oppression, especially in retaliation for the fear and oppression that _they_ had been placed under. But this human was only a child and an injured one at that. He was certainly in no position to be a threat even if he had wanted to, and even less so in Pantherlily's presence.

"You didn't forget the rules, right Lily?" the first one who had spoken to him (since he'd entered the room) demanded.

"You are now made one of the Fallen and hereby banished from Extalia!"

Pantherlily's head shot up in shock and disbelief, "What? ! For _this_? ? ?"

He couldn't believe this! Was one act of kindness really so wrong! His eyes sought the queen's, but she looked down, looking ashamed. He would get no help from her and he couldn't say he was surprised. She was just here for show, the Council of Elders were the ones who held the true power, but it still sickened him. She agreed with his sentiments, he could see, but refused to speak out. At least he had the conviction and the heart to follow through with his beliefs and knowing that somehow made it easier for him to stand up and walk away, the sting of betrayal less painful than it had been in the initial blow. He was halfway out of the palace when he felt the boy's body move in his arms and looked down to see green eyes peering up at him through tired, half-closed lids.

"Oh, you're awake. Are you alright? Do you still hurt?" Pantherlily asked, mindful to keep his voice low for the boy's sake.

He shook his head once. "No, I'm okay. Did you help me?" he asked.

Pantherlily nodded, "Yes, I'm Pantherlily, but you may call me just Lily."

The child's eyes widened a little, "Pantherlily! But you...!" he suddenly looked timid and mumbled so quietly, Pantherlily would have missed it were he not an Exceed with excellent hearing, "Father won't be happy."

'Father'? This boy didn't mean Faust, did he? Did that mean he had unknowingly saved the Prince of Edolas? "Nonsense, I'm sure your father will be more relieved that your safe then that I was late for the meeting."

The boy gave a noncommittal hum as though he didn't really believe him. "I... I heard a bit of that conversation earlier... about you being exiled... Do the Exceed really hate humans that much?" he asked in all his childish innocence.

"No... it's not that we hate them. We fear them," Pantherlily corrected and chose not to elaborate. He was thankful the boy decided not to prod further.

They arrived at his house and Pantherlily set the boy down upon the couch as he began to pack on the bare necessities in a large sac. The task wasn't too difficult to accomplish for he had always lived thrifty, but it still had to be done. He returned to the living room when he was finished and the boy stood up on his own as soon as he saw him.

"It's okay. My head doesn't hurt as much anymore. I can walk on my own," he said with a reassuring smile at the concerned look on Pantherlily's face.

Pantherlily merely nodded and they left the capital, Pantherlily taking small measured strides to accommodate the child's short legs and lesser endurance. They were quite a ways out in the windy desert just outside the capital when Pantherlily slowed and looked back over his shoulder at the capital. For all he knew, this would be the last time he ever saw his homeland. Unless things changed, he would never be able to return here. He heard small crunching footsteps come closer to him and he looked down to see the child staring up at him, worry etched into his young features.

"What is it?" he asked, then knelt down before him and placed a paw on his bandaged head. "Don't worry. It wasn't your fault I was banished," he reassured him, "The first thing I must do is escort you back home. How is that little head of yours doing?" he added as he rubbed his paw over the bandages, checking their tightness.

"Definitely better, thank you," the boy said with an adorable smile, "And thank you for saving me, Lily."

"It's only what anyone... _should_ have done were they in my position," Pantherlily said with a half-grimace. It's what anyone should have done, but his banishment was proof enough that if it had been any other Exceed, this boy would have died. "I've used a lot of Aera magic recently, so it would probably be best to walk to the edge of the island before I use it again, just in case."

In other words, more walking. The boy nodded once as Pantherlily stood up and they started moving forward again. "Sure, okay, but what's Aera?" he asked.

"It's what the Exceed call their magic. It's what gives them the ability to fly," Pantherlily explained.

"Huh? You mean you guys don't need lacrimas to perform magic?" the boy asked, his curiosity piqued.

"No. The Exceed are one of the very few creatures in this land that are born with magic inside of them."

"Wow... So you guys must have unlimited magic use, huh?"

"For the most part. It's still a form of energy and it does run out if we're not careful, but it can replenish itself given enough time," Pantherlily answered.

"Magic that comes from within you... That seems really cool. I wish that _I_ had been born an Exceed," the child said excitedly and Pantherlily smiled grimly.

"Don't let your folks here you say that. They might not take too kindly to it."

He wished he hadn't said anything for the boy's happiness instantly dampened and he looked sad, "Yeah, you're right. Mother probably wouldn't mind, but Father definitely would. Probably Erza too..."

"'Erza'?" Pantherlily asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah, she's my best friend!" the boy said excitedly, a peculiar glint in his green eyes as he turned around to face the giant Exceed and started walking backwards, "She's the daughter of the Knightwalker clan and she's really scary in the training area because she's so strong, but she's really nice and she has pretty scarlet-red hair..."

Pantherlily had long-since stopped listening to the words flowing out of the kid's mouth as he continued blathering about his friend Erza. Instead, he was listening to his body language and watching his face for a moment before smiling knowingly to himself. If he didn't know better, then he'd think that the boy had a crush on this little friend of his and he patted him gently on the head. The one-sided conversation lasted them all the way to the edge of the floating island and Pantherlily lifted the kid off his feet and into his arms once more.

"Don't be afraid," he warned, "I'm going to drop off this island, but we're not going to fall, okay?"

The blue-haired boy nodded, but he still hid his face in Pantherlily's chest so as not to see the not-fall. Pantherlily couldn't blame him. He _had_ been falling off one of these islands not too long ago before he'd been rescued. It would _definitely_ take some time to get over that if he ever _did_ heal from the near catastrophe.

Once he'd reached a comfortable flying speed, he felt the boy loosen up and decided it was best to ask his question now rather than later when they reached the Royal City, "Pardon me young one, but you're the son of King Faust and Queen Porlyusica, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes," the boy replied hesitantly, "I'm Jellal."

"Well, my prince, you'll be back home shortly. The wind is in our favor."

"Oh, Lily, do you like apples?" At the puzzled expression on the Exceed's face, Jellal explained, "I was wondering if you liked apples because I was picking some with Mother before-" the prince's eyes suddenly widened in terror and he completely froze over, "Mother! Lily, hurry! Mother might be injured! Evergreen attacked us! _Hurry_!"

Not needing any further prompting, Pantherlily murmured a quick 'hold tight' before tucking his wings against his body for the second time that day and he dropped like a rock straight down to the Royal City. The city itself didn't appear to be all that different, but there was something distinctly _wrong_ with the capital's atmosphere. He could now pick up the faint sounds of swords clashing and explosions and the even fainter scents of human blood and fire. The Royal City had turned into a war zone and he currently held the kingdom's future, injured but still alive, in his arms. This was no place for a prince. Pantherlily was no stranger to war, but he had no idea who was fighting or why, and he carried the kingdom's future. He couldn't just recklessly charge into battle without knowing what was going on. He would have to leave the boy somewhere in order to get information, but he didn't know any humans on a personal level to trust. In the end, he wrapped the boy up in the white cloth he had worn as a toga and flew down into the fray. He didn't stop until he saw a well-known weapon, even to Pantherlily, Nine Commandments.

General Knightwalker had just defeated his last (current) opponent standing when Pantherlily landed and called his name, "General Knightwalker, I have just arrived. What's happening?"

A death-glare crossed the general's face. "The Raijinshu clan have committed high treason against Edolas," he ground out, "The prince is missing and the queen-"

He stopped when Pantherlily placed a paw on his shoulder and leaned forward, whispering something in his ear. Laxus's eyes widened and he stared at the white-wrapped bundle with suppressed relief.

"That's good... We have never been so blessed among the Exceed. May the Great Kings smile upon you," he said quietly, "Head to the prince's room. If I'm right, my daughter and her friend, Ultear, should be in that general area by now. They'll protect him with their lives and then you can join us."

Pantherlily nodded once and took off towards the royal chambers just as another wave of the Raijinshu rebels appeared and Laxus willed the Nine Commandments to Silfarion's form, exponentially increasing his speed and cutting the number of attackers in half.

"Lord Laxus really meant that," the prince said quietly and explained when he had Pantherlily's full attention, "The Great Kings were said to be so powerful and wise, they were considered gods. Lord Laxus claims not to believe in the story, but deep down, I think he really does. He gave you a very noble compliment."

"Indeed he did, but stay silent for a little longer, Prince. Don't want to give your position away to the enemy. They think they've already killed you."

The prince nodded in acknowledgment and kept silent for the entire flight until they landed just outside the door to his room. Pantherlily set the boy down on his feet and removed the white wrap from around his small form so that he could walk without tripping. He had just opened the door when there was a loud shout from one end of the corridor and he whirled around to face the source on instinct, thinking one of the Raijinshu had seen the prince and was coming to finish what had been attempted.

He could just make out the form of a little girl with flaming red hair streaking towards them when the prince shouted, "Erza!"

The name barely registered in Pantherlily's mind when the girl, Erza, yelled coherent words this time, "You _idiot prince_!" and launched herself at the royal son, spear first.

He had no time to react to the sudden (and very quick!) attack when the prince side-stepped her slightly and grabbed the weapon's hilt, using her own forward momentum to thrust the tip into the no-longer unblemished floor. He used it as a brace to push himself feet first into air with an agility Pantherlily never suspected and kicked the girl in the stomach, sending her flying while the prince landed in a full-body crouch, the spear now in his hands as he watched her intensely. The prince was more capable than he'd believed!

Erza glared and he came back to his senses (having finally realized why her name was familiar. The prince had said it earlier). "Hey, don't you realize that you could have killed the prince? !"

"If he had died that easily, then he wouldn't have been fit to be the future king at all!" she yelled and charged again, whipping two daggers out from the inside of her boots.

Jellal's eyes narrowed slightly and just when it seemed like she was going to strike him, he turned the spear sixty degrees and successfully blocked both of her daggers. "That's not fair, Erza. You're also insulting yourself by saying that I can't dodge and counter such an obvious attack."

"Well, I would deserve it," she growled as she slightly lessened the pressure she was putting on her right hand which caught Jellal off-guard and she slipped her arm under the stick, catching her spear in the crook of her elbow and throwing all of her weight against Jellal's right side. It worked. Jellal was forced to let go of the weapon and he tumbled sideways. The spear was hers again. "I would deserve it if after all my work, you were still killed! Damn you!"

She tossed the daggers away and threw herself forward to attack him again just as a spear clattered to the ground beside him. Jellal didn't question it as he picked up the weapon and met her attack head on.

"Damn you!" she yelled again, "How dare you do that? ! We couldn't find you anywhere and we were suddenly under attack from within!" she continued to scream as she viciously attacked him and he silently parried each of her blows, "The Raijinshu told us you were dead and how dare you hide from me? ? How dare you go missing and make me think they were telling the truth? ! ! I've trained you for years! You're not allowed to get killed so easily! You're not _ever_ allowed to disappear! !" The last jab was too strong and pushed him off-balance and she rushed forward with every intention of stabbing him in the shoulder, head injury present or not, "If you disappear, then Edolas has no future! ! !"

Erza thrust the spear forward, but Jellal wasn't there. He had used his shift in weight to fall backwards onto his back and she shot over him. He kicked upward right into her rear-guard arm and she was forced to drop the spear yet again, still falling forward. There was no time to think, only to act. Later, Jellal wouldn't really be certain how he managed to pull it off so quickly. The prince grabbed her falling spear and threw himself sideways over her, falling on top of her and pinning her down when she hit the ground and he held the spear horizontally, the shaft just under her chin so that she had to look him in the eyes. They were both panting heavily.

"That's not true, Erza," Jellal said seriously between his heavy breathing. "Edolas does not revolve around one man or one woman. It will continue on without us. It will survive. We'll all survive, no matter what happens. Our future is what we make it out to be. So don't give up on our future yet, Erza," Jellal added with a smile, "There's still so much that we haven't done, so you mustn't give up, okay?"

Erza stared wordlessly up at him, her mouth agape when she turned her hazel eyes away and she murmured his name, "Jellal... You can't die. I want to see an Edolas like that eventually. And you can't get killed either... I won't let you," she turned her head back to him and her eyes were hard as they bore into his, "Because _I'm_ the only one who's allowed to kill you."

Jellal looked puzzled for a moment and then nodded gravely, "I understand. If I betray Edolas, then I won't deserve to live. As the most loyal of the clans, it's only fitting that-"

"-NO! That's not why!" Erza interrupted forcefully and Jellal stopped, "I'm the only one who has the right to kill you. You must live for Edolas. And if only _I _have the right to kill you... then you can't be killed prematurely before you've accomplished your ambitions."

"Erza, does me being alive... really mean that much to you?" Jellal asked his red-haired friend in wonder as he finally removed the spear from below her neck and tossed it aside, mentally-prepared just in case she decided to attack him again, but her body didn't tense up to fight him. She was done.

"Of course it does!" she all but shouted, "When I heard you'd been killed, I-" she paused momentarily, afraid she had been about to say too much, "I felt like the world had just ended. I was... I was scared," she finally admitted, "I was scared that you were really gone and that there would be no way I could ever find you. So don't leave. Don't leave me like that again!" she screamed and Jellal witnessed something that he'd never thought he'd live to see, Erza's tears. And for some reason, seeing those tears hurt him more than his head had when he'd been dealt that blow.

"I'm sorry," Jellal whispered ashamedly as he helped Erza sit up and held her hands, "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he repeated as he hugged her. He would do whatever he had to to keep Erza from crying. Erza wasn't ever supposed to cry. "Who's going to cry for you if I go, anyway?"

He had meant it as a jest, but it somehow didn't come out that way. However, it was just enough that Erza wrapped her arms around him and returned his hug. He didn't even care that she used his shoulder to wipe away the rest of her tears.

"She liiiiiiikes him," a girl's voice trilled quietly next to Pantherlily and the big cat jumped out of his skin when he saw a girl with long dark-brown hair standing next to him and gazing at the two children sitting on the floor with a smug, secretive expression on her face. How had she snuck up on him? ! The girl turned to him innocently and said, "My name is Ultear. The young Miss. Knightwalker told me to be lookout while she dealt with Prince Jellal, but..." she sweatdropped and pointed at the spear that Jellal had temporarily-borrowed and then discarded, "I'm kinda useless without a weapon."

"Ah, so it was you who threw it to the prince."

Ultear nodded once, "Yes, sir. Didn't want him getting even more injured than he already is. Were you the one who saved him?"

"Yes. Whether it was luck or fate, if I hadn't been there when I was, your prince would have fallen to his death and the human kingdom of Edolas would be without an heir," Pantherlily answered.

Ultear opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a roar of frustration and a thump. Erza had pushed Jellal down to the ground and looked positively furious. "Damn it, Jellal! Tell me who it was that attacked you and your mother _right now_! _Answer me! !_"

Jellal's eyes nervously shifted over to where Pantherlily and Ultear were standing and he shuddered slightly. "No, I can't."

"You _will_ tell me, or I'll break your arm," Erza growled, "And don't think I won't do it!"

Jellal gritted his teeth, but he didn't look scared, more concerned. "Erza, you won't like it-" he began, but she cut him off.

"I already don't like this!" she yelled as she gripped his shirt collar and shook him, "The Raijinshu attacked you and your mother! This is high treason against the Kingdom of Edolas and I won't stand for it! I don't care if they are a part of my family, they're not anymore! Traitors to Edolas must be punished without mercy! They are the lowest of human scum and they are no longer blood kin of mine, so I'll repeat my question. Who. attacked. _you_!"

He didn't want to say it, but he had no choice. Erza wouldn't stop until she'd gotten what she wanted out of him. "Evergreen," he mumbled softly, hoping with all his heart that she hadn't heard him.

She had.

"Ever..." she breathed, her hazel eyes wide with horror, "My own..." but her eyes hardened and took on a look of death, "No, she is not my mother. She's a traitor to Edolas just like the rest of her clan and she will be punished for her crimes. I won't allow her to get away with this even if she is the one who birthed me. Ultear! Guard the prince! Don't let him leave your sights!" Erza bellowed at the older girl as she tossed her back the spear.

Ultear fumbled with it, but did manage to keep it from dropping back down to the floor. "Y-Yes, ma'am! But where are you going? ! !" she shouted suddenly as her friend took off in a sprint down the corridor as she clutched the spear against her chest.

"I'm going to help my father bring down the Raijinshu and find Evergreen!" the redhead hollered back just before she sped out of earshot.

"Will you two be alright here by yourselves?" Pantherlily asked the two children, "I had promised General Knightwalker that I would return to help with the fighting once I brought the prince here, but that was before his daughter decided to join him."

Jellal opened his mouth, but Ultear beat him to it. "We'll be fine!" she said with a reassuring smile, "We honestly didn't see anyone the entire way here and nobody is going to look for the prince in his own chambers even if they do realize that he's not dead. We couldn't have asked for a better hiding place really."

"Very well, then. I'll be off," Pantherlily said as he spread his wings wide and was about to take off when a small hand grabbed the leg of his pants. He looked down and saw the prince gazing up at him worriedly.

"Lily, will you please protect Erza?" he asked plaintively.

She was a Knightwalker and the daughter of General Laxus. Pantherlily didn't really think she'd need his protection, but he would keep an eye on her just the same. The concern the prince felt for the girl was quite endearing and he gingerly patted the boy's now mostly-healed head. "Don't worry, Prince. I'll look out for her so long as you promise not to leave your chambers or Ultear's line of sight until someone trustworthy comes back for you."

Jellal gave a relieved smile and nodded instantly, "Yes, Lily. I promise."

"Good. Ultear, don't let your guard down for even an instant. The chances are indeed low, but they still exist. You protect this kingdom's future. Now both of you go in and hide."

Ultear saluted him in response as she opened the door with the other hand and ushered the prince inside. With the door closed behind the two children, Pantherlily took off down the same corridor as the scarlet-haired young girl, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of either rebels or a flash of bright red hair.

* * *

><p><em>Wow, this chapter... actually turned out to be longer than I'd expected... I didn't realize that just writing down all that I wanted to happen in this chapter would take so many words (pages) and I was planning on making this little section two chapters straight from the beginning. And yet another familiar character is introduced to the story. Ah, Pantherlily, I love you. You're so awesome. :)<em>


	5. Execution

**Execution**

They were hiding in the wardrobe when the door to his room opened. Ultear had suggested it in case one of the Raijinshu came in, but the entrant was none other than Erza. He could tell by her hair. Nobody else had red hair like that.

"Jellal. Ultear. Where are you guys hiding? I know you're in here. It's alright to come out now. The traitors have been dealt wi- Ah! There you are!" she exclaimed with relief when the wardrobe doors burst open and Jellal quickly climbed out first, shortly followed by Ultear.

"Are you okay? You're covered in blood! Where's Lily? Did he find you?" Jellal asked and Erza nodded.

"Yes, he's standing guard outside the door right now waiting for you guys. We have to report to your father, he still doesn't know you're alive and well, and you still have to explain what happened when you were attacked and how Pantherlily saved your life," Erza continued with a slight head gesture to the big cat.

"Well, okay, but I don't remember all that much. I hope Mother's okay. She was injured before me, but I don't know how bad. I hope somebody got to her to help her soon enough," the prince said worriedly.

Erza's eyes widened and she looked aghast, "Your... Jellal, she..." she bit her lip and refused to speak. She couldn't say it. "We'll... we'll see her after we report to your father and find out what he wants from us," she promised and Jellal nodded readily enough.

If Jellal was surprised that she had grabbed his hand and was holding it tightly as they headed towards the throne room, he made no mention of it and Erza was grateful. She didn't have the heart to smack him today and she'd want to if he pointed it out. They arrived in the throne room and Jellal was assaulted by a chorus of cheers and concerned adults wanting to know if he was alright and what that bandage on his head was for and almost as instantly, they fell into fearful silence thanks to the presence of the giant Exceed strolling unassumingly behind the two next to Ultear.

"Jellal!"

The boy froze when his father's voice called out to him. Fearing his father's wrath for whatever reason, Jellal hurried to stand before his father and was sent into shock when his father actually picked him up and hugged him for the first time in as long as he could remember.

"My son, you're alive! Bless the Great Kings for this small fortune in Edolas's darkest hour," Faust declared and Jellal hardly dared breathe. He was terrified. This was unfamiliar behavior from his father and he didn't know how to react to it. "How did you come to have this bandage upon your head?" his father asked.

"Evergreen attacked Mother and I when we were picking apples in the garden," Jellal explained and he failed to catch the slight change in his father's eyes from slightly indifferent to a little stony, "She used magic to transport me to the edge of the Royal City and I was falling and I would have died if Pantherlily had not saved me," he gestured to the Exceed standing some distance away.

"Oh? Please do elaborate Lord Pantherlily," Faust allowed.

"Your Highness," Pantherlily said respectively as he dropped to his knees and bowed, "I had just arrived within sight of the Royal City when I smelled blood and caught sight of something falling from the City. At the time, I did not know it was a human, much less your son, but I immediately dropped into a steep dive and caught your son. I gave him a preliminary check-over and after deducing his head wound was the greatest threat to his life, I immediately took him to my home in Extalia to treat him. However, in doing so, I broke the law of Extalia and was banished. I have now become one of the Fallen and am no longer the Queen's emissary. I apologize for this terrible inconvenience to you, my Lord, but I do not regret the choice I made," he added as he raised his head and directed his last comment at the prince.

"The whole of Edolas is grateful for your sacrifice and we feel your loss. If you pledge your loyalty to Edolas, then I can offer you a place to stay in my kingdom wherever you choose and you will be justifiably compensated," Faust informed him.

"Your Highness is most generous. I only acted as I saw fit," Pantherlily spoke, humbled, "But if it's not too much, I should like to remain close to the prince and watch over him. I confess that your son has grown on me. However, I understand if you wish to decline my request. The prince's life is sacred and I'm a mere stranger made worse by the fact that I'm also an Exceed."

"Nonsense, Lord Pantherlily! You have proven yourself a commendable warrior in your willingness and ability to assist us in our campaign against the Raijinshu and you have saved my son's life once already even at the tremendous cost to yourself. You are to be exonerated!" Faust said loudly as he boasted the Exceed's merits, "I can think of no other man that I would rather trust in my son's company so soon after making his acquaintance. Accommodations and such will be handled at a later time. It's nearing seventeen hundred hours and the Raijinshu must be made an example of before the day is done. Pantherlily, help Erza retrieve the prisoner from the holding cell and head to the city square. She would do it herself, but she's still too young. Jellal, Byro, you two will follow me."

Jellal had just noticed the old Chief of Staff of the Royal Army waddling next to his father and he shuddered. Byro scared him and gave him a bad vibe. There was just something creepy about him that Jellal couldn't get over. He hurried to catch up with his father when he heard a woman's voice calling for his father.

"What Coakin? !" Faust growled irritably at the woman who had called for him, one of the servant women. Jellal knew her. She was very small, but extremely quick. And upon her solid dirt-brown hair, she wore a green cap with two ear flaps that made her face look like a dog's.

"Please, your Highness! Please don't take the prince with you!" the young woman pleaded, "Please don't make him watch! He's only six years old! He's too young to-AH!" A resounding slap echoed through the air and Coakin stumbled backwards, clutching her smarting cheek where Faust had struck her.

"Hold your tongue, you insolent wench! Don't you dare lecture me on what my son is or isn't too young to see or else I'll have that tongue of yours cut off! Jellal!"

The prince, having been rooted to the floor, staring in shocked horror at having witnessed his father's deliberate violence against a woman, jumped out of his stupefied state and hurried after his father, fearing to incite his temper if he failed to catch up with him. Jellal remained quiet for a while, silently following his father and Byro before he finally got up the courage to ask the question that had been bothering him since his father had slapped Coakin.

"Father, what is it almost time for?" he asked timidly, hoping that he wouldn't further provoke his father's anger.

He was in luck this time. "You are to witness a public execution. This is how we deal with traitors."

Jellal froze over even as he continued to walk forward. An execution? For treason? But who was to be executed?

_Whoever Erza had gone down to retrieve._

They reached the balcony that overlooked the square and the king ushered his son ahead of him so that he would be able to see. The prince peered over the railing and down below, a huge mass of people stood below. Jellal had never seen so many in one place before! The entire city had to be down there! The sky was orange and fiery, a violent sunset that would last a few hours. In the very center of the square, separate from the citizens. Jellal could make out Pantherlily and Erza easily, but the one slightly ahead of them, he had a hard time distinguishing. He squinted his eyes, as if this would help him narrow his focus, but he did finally recognize the prisoner and he gasped, his green eyes widening. It was...!

"Evergreen Raijinshu," Faust's voice boomed down from the balcony to the square below, his voice magically projected so that every citizen watching could hear what he said, "You have committed multiple crimes today all in the name of high treason against the Kingdom of Edolas. With the support of the Raijinshu clan, you began a revolt that killed many loyal soldiers of Edolas and you are personally responsible for the murders of General Lord Laxus Knightwalker and my wife, Queen Porlyusica, and the attempted murder of my son, Prince Jellal."

"No, Mother!" Jellal cried out before he could stop himself, a numbing coldness spreading from his heart to his extremities. Mother...! No, she couldn't be...! She couldn't be dead!

Evergreen had heard him and she finally saw the shock of blue hair just over the railing of the balcony where the king stood. She was livid with rage. "You damn brat!" she hollered in enraged dismay, "That's impossible! There's no way you could have survived the fall! You should be de-!" she was cut off by a sharp thwack to the side of her head.

"No prisoners are allowed to talk without permission," Erza bit out venomously as she returned her spear to its default upright position, ready to use it again if necessary.

"These are your crimes Evergreen Raijinshu and the punishment for committing high treason is public execution," Faust continued as if Evergreen had never spoken, "Edolas does not tolerate traitors. Erza!"

Erza? Why... Why was his father calling Erza? And then it dawned on him in cold realization. The retrieval of the prisoner and his father saying something about her being too young to do it herself. It wasn't the age necessarily, but her size. Jellal couldn't believe what his father was asking Erza to do! She... she couldn't! Even if Evergreen is a traitor, she was still Erza's mother! Erza couldn't kill her own mother! He wanted to believe that, he desperately did, but deep down he knew otherwise and his father knew it too. Erza was loyal to Edolas. She would do her duty to her kingdom, follow any order given if it was for the benefit of the nation. Even if it was her own mother, Erza would do whatever she was ordered to do for the sake of Edolas... For the sake of Edolas... And his father knew it. He was taking advantage of her undying loyalty.

"Watch closely, Jellal," the king said in a conversational tone, low enough for only Jellal and Byro to hear him, "Edolas does not take traitors lightly. Be they lowly, rebel scoundrel or high-born noble, all face the same punishment. Keep your eyes on your friend there. Blood relations and family no longer matter. You forsake them as soon as you turn traitor and so they forsake you. Erza knows her duty. She will kill her mother without hesitation. Traitors are the lowest scum on the planet and all traitors must die. Even you if you were to betray me, Jellal. Nobody would come to your side and nobody would stand with you, not even her. Not even she would hesitate to kill you with her own hands if you ever betrayed me."

"Y-Yes sir," Jellal breathed timidly as he absorbed the words.

He couldn't deny them. It was true. If there ever came a time, as incomprehensible as that sounded, when he betrayed Edolas, Erza would kill him without blinking. Her duty and loyalty to Edolas was stronger than their friendship. Betraying Edolas was an unforgivable, irredeemable sin in her eyes. But... she had never killed anyone before... Would she really be able to kill him, one of her best friends, if such a day ever came?

Erza remained completely unaware of the conversation taking place above. She never took her eyes off Evergreen as she withdrew the Executioner's Sword from the scabbard and the woman watched her. There appeared to be nothing holding Evergreen in place, but Erza knew better. Magic kept her from moving and it would remain active until she was dead. The sword's weight did not feel comfortable in Erza's hands, but she _was_ familiar with how to use it. Swords were more effective for execution purposes than spears, but she wouldn't have wanted to sully her spear with the traitor's filthy blood anyway.

"It's not customary and slime like you doesn't deserve it, but this one time I will make an exception. Do you have any last words you'd like to say?" Erza asked as she held the sword poised, ready to make the final strike. Not even her hands shook as she held the blade.

Evergreen laughed, "How _merciful_ of you, Daughter! So unexpected from a member of the Knightwalker clan. I bet your dear father is turning over in his grave right now and he hasn't even been buried yet!"

Erza's hazel eyes flashed with rage and she took her stance to balance out the heavy weight of the sword for when she swung it. She would not let Evergreen mock her father anymore!

"My biggest regret is that such a disgusting little monster as you ever came from my body."

The sword silently cut through the air with deadly precision and Evergreen's head was severed clean off her body. Blood spurted from her neck, some of it getting onto Erza, as her body slumped to the floor lifelessly. Her final expression had been one of triumphant laughter. She'd died spitting in her daughter's face. Erza said nothing as she cleaned the blood off the sword with a cloth and sheathed it again. She said nothing as she placed the sword back in the prison's extremely limited armory. She wasn't even present for dinner that night.

Jellal, himself, didn't have that much of an appetite either. Not after what had happened today and he sat there picking at his food. It was all too much too fast. He felt isolated. The seat to his father's left where his mother sat was now empty as well as the next two seats to his right where Lord Laxus and Erza sat. The only thing good that had happened today was his new friendship with Pantherlily who was now also a part of his personal guard. The big Exceed seemed pretty happy with that as though he wanted nothing else. Nobody was talking much. Conversation was forced and subdued and it was no surprise that dinner ended early. Jellal left as soon as he could to go find Erza, Pantherlily following after him.

He found her in her room and she opened her door for him readily enough, Pantherlily waiting for him outside. Jellal didn't know what, but there was something off about her. Something not quite right... And there was a distinct smell of cleaning oil in the room. Looking around, he found the source in the form of Nine Commandments, Lord Laxus's weapon, next to the open cleaning bottle.

"Erza...?"

She smiled in a grimace. "It's pathetic. I can't get all the blood off either the spear or my hands," she said as she held up her hands for him to see.

Yet there was no trace of blood on her hands, but her palms were very red, she had scrubbed them so hard. Only then did he realize the full impact that Erza was suffering from after being ordered to execute her own mother. Jellal embraced her tightly and hated his father all the more for forcing her to do this, duty or not. Erza had never killed anyone and today, she had been forced to kill her own mother, the very same person who had also killed her father. How could his father _do_ that to her? ! It struck him in that moment that she was the very last of the direct line of the Knightwalker clan. How had that come to happen? When Erza hugged him back and gripped the back of his shirt, he knew something was seriously wrong. Erza had never clung to him like this.

"I was there..." she mumbled angrily, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt, "I was there when it happened... When I saw her kill Father..."

_She saw it seconds before it happened. Her father was withdrawing Nine Commandments from a rebel's body when Erza saw her. She cried out to her father... to warn him of the sneak attack from behind... but she was too late. The longsword stabbed straight through her father's unprotected back to his heart. Blood burst forth from the chest wound where the sword protruded and Evergreen held it there for a good ten seconds before withdrawing it and dropping the now-dead general to the ground in an undignified heap. Her father's prone form... Her mother's cold, mocking laugh... Erza saw red as she charged straight at the beast of a woman who had birthed her with all intents and purposes of making her pay for what she just did. Her father __**would**__ be avenged in the Knightwalker name!_

"I'm sorry... I failed in my duty... I failed to protect you and your mother... Evergreen... I hate her... It's unforgivable what she's done... But I... She's still..." she broke off, unable to explain, in words, how she felt.

Jellal squeezed her tighter and buried his face into her shoulder. "It's okay, Erza." He understood. Erza really did hate her mother for what she did, she wasn't exaggerating, but even though Evergreen had been a rotten mother, she was still her mother.

"Just... don't... don't ever do that to me... Don't ever make me have to kill you too," Erza demanded, but her voice was choked up and so very un-Erza like.

Jellal nodded and Erza realized that her cheek was wet. Jellal was crying. He was crying for her again, but this time, she didn't want to smack him for it.

* * *

><p><em>Omigosh child!Mystwalker angst is so friggin' adorable! XD And I've introduced a new, mildly-necessary character, Coakin! She's technically an OC, but I'm making her Coco's mother for when the time comes. Little Coco was quite young when Mystogan was nineteen, so I figure she hasn't been born yet. Also, in regards to Erza Knightwalker, I don't think I've made her OOC because she's only six and killing someone isn't easy no matter how old you are. I also had it so that with her first kill being that of a family member, any others that follow (especially for murders of unrelated persons) will be easier which leads up to a very interesting battle that I have planned for the end of this fic, but THAT, of course, is for the end! :D<em>

_Also, completely unrelated, I just got back from a two-week vacation which involved spending some time in Canada, so I'm really hyped up about writing some Canada from Hetalia at the moment! XD_


	6. Secret of the Anima

**Secret of the Anima**

"'Anima'?"

"Yes, I uh... accidentally listened in on a conversation that my father was having with Byro and I heard him mention it," Jellal told his redheaded friend, refusing to look her in the eyes because she was glaring at him suspiciously.

"You mean, you were spying on him," Ultear put in with a slight smirk as she threw her arm on Jellal's shoulder and leaned on him.

"Well... yes," the eleven-year-old prince finally admitted with a soft sigh of defeat, "But they were talking in really quiet whispers about this Anima thing in Father's study. Since you two tend to spend so much more time around soldiers and more common people, I was wondering if you two had heard anything gossip-related amongst them."

"I don't put any stock in gossip," Erza said with a slight huff, "It's all over-exaggerated and romanticized with maybe half an ounce of truth to it." Jellal had figured she would say as much.

"Well, I _do_ listen to gossip," Ultear emphasized with a pointed look in her friend's direction (which was ignored), "But no, Jellal, I haven't heard anything about an Anima. What of it?"

"Well, he..." Jellal bit his lip nervously, debating whether he should tell them or not.

"'Well, he' what?" Erza demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with a bored expression. Jellal wanted to smile. Erza was trying to mask her slight interest. It was too late to stop now. He had to tell them. Erza wouldn't let him off the hook otherwise.

"Father mentioned something about restoring magic to Edolas."

Both girls' eyes widened and Erza dropped her facade of impolite indifference. The impact of his words was not lost on either of them. They were only eleven years old (Ultear was thirteen), but they were not naïve about economic kingdom matters, unlike all the citizens who lived directly within the Royal City. They were all very much aware that Edolas was running out of magic, and it was why they had started lightly practicing how to use magic weapons only two years ago (instead of much sooner), and sparingly at that. All across the country, magic lacrimas were becoming more difficult to find and Jellal knew that his father had been working tirelessly to find another magic resource for several years now.

However, the way in which he pursued it was almost fanatical and terrifyingly so. His father had never been a loving parent, but after Mother's death five years ago, Father's sanity slipped further away with each passing year and he was so obsessively-absorbed in finding a way to restore magic to Edolas that Jellal firmly believed that his father had forgotten his very existence. It wouldn't have surprised him, but he didn't mind. If his father forgot about him and he stayed quiet, then his father couldn't direct his temper at him which had, sadly, gotten worse over the years.

"A way to bring magic to Edolas?" Ultear asked, her gray eyes glowing with delight, "That's incredible! I wonder how he did it."

"I don't like it," Jellal said flatly.

Ultear stared at him in shock while Erza cocked one red eyebrow at him. "And why might that be, Jellal? Isn't the discovery of a new source of magic something to be praised?"

"It should be..." Jellal began slowly, trying to think of a way to explain his thoughts coherently, "But if such a magic source were found, then it seems odd that Father only converses with Byro about it. Shouldn't the rest of the royal court know of it so that we can more actively harvest this new resource?"

"This secrecy could be as a result of any number of things, _prince_," Erza said with heavy emphasis on his title and Jellal gave her a long-suffering look. She only called him that when she thought he was being particularly stupid, not to mention that he hated it and she knew it. "It could be that his Highness has found a new magic resource, but it would be costly to extract it and he doesn't want the royal court to get their hopes up before he's certain that it's a viable resource," she suggested.

"Or it could be that Father's new source of magic involves something inhumane and cruel, and he's only discussing it with Byro because Byro will go along with anything that Father has planned," the young prince said darkly, his green eyes narrowing at the prospect.

There was silence from his two female friends before it was broken by Ultear, "So what's going through that head of yours, Jellal?" At the puzzled expression on his face, Ultear bopped him lightly on the head, "Don't give me that look, princey. We've known you for too long now. You're planning something, I know you are, so spill it."

Jellal smirked. They really did know him well. "We're going to find out what Father's keeping secret about this Anima thing ourselves. Are you two with me?"

"Of course we're with you, Jellal!" Ultear said enthusiastically as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"As we always are," Erza added with a slight bob of her head, smiling a little, and Jellal returned it.

Of course, Erza had to pick his brains to figure out where they could find this Anima thing because they couldn't very well walk up to either Byro or his father and _ask_ where the Anima was and they hadn't exactly come out and stated where the Anima was being kept either. He knew she was trying to put together information based upon what he'd heard in full detail, but it still felt like he was under heavy interrogation for committing a serious crime. After nearly twenty minutes of interrogation that ended with a thoughtful Erza and a sweaty Jellal (because more than once, Erza had whipped out Nine Commandments and brought it to bare upon his unprotected neck to threaten him into remembering more), Ultear had pulled the blueprints of the castle (don't ask him where she got those) close to her and was perusing through all possible locations that matched the descriptions that Jellal had given.

"I got it!" Ultear exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with importance, "From what I have deduced, this Anima thingy is in the lowest level of the palace directly in the center of it.

"The lowest level of the center?" Erza asked and she frowned.

Jellal knew why and his expression matched hers. Only those with express permission by the king could be allowed to enter such rooms so close to the castle's center. Not even he, the king's own son, was allowed down there without permission. There would be severe repercussions if they were caught down there. And still, Erza and Ultear turned to him.

"Well, Jellal. What shall we do now?" Erza asked him with a slight tilt of her head.

Jellal almost couldn't believe his ears. Erza was... she was going to break a rule? ! ? ! He would have thought something wrong with her if, at the back of his mind, he didn't realize that even though this act would defy a rule, it was not treason against Edolas to find out what this Anima was that seemed to have the purpose of helping Edolas and provide them with a new source of magic.

But he did realize it and he smiled gratefully at her. How was he so lucky to have such a good friend as her?

"Isn't it obvious?" Jellal asked, giving her a sly smile, "We shall seek out this Anima thingy and find out how it's going to benefit our kingdom."

"You mean _your_ kingdom," Ultear corrected.

"No, I _mean_ our kingdom," Jellal replied with a shake of his head, "Without the people who live in it, there wouldn't be a kingdom at all."

"There's some truth in that," Erza agreed, "But the protection of the citizens who follow the law is the ruler's duty and to provide aide and support of any sort during periods of crisis. All this responsibility falls upon the head of the government for it is up to you to protect and care for everyone, hence why it IS _**your**_ kingdom and not _ours_."

"Oh..." Jellal said quietly and his smile faded a little, "I suppose so... It's just that Edolas is so big and so important, I just wanted to be able share it."

"Oh, nice going. Way to make him feel bad," Ultear hissed, nudging Erza painfully in the ribs and continuing before the redhead could retaliate and return the pain tenfold, "Edolas is the only thing he's had to call his own since his mother died and you just went and told him that he won't be able to share the one gift he'll receive when the king dies."

"That's absurd, Ultear!" Erza growled in a whisper at the brunette, "He'll be able to share Edolas and the responsibility with his future wife."

Ultear's angry expression turned coy all of a sudden, her voice lowering even further, "Oh, and who would that be? You?"

"I do _not_ mind the idea of ripping out your intestines with Nine Commandments!" Erza gritted out, her eyes glowering with rage and one might have mistaken the pinkish-red hue in her cheeks to have been the result of her increasing temper.

"Uh, everything okay, girls?" Jellal asked timidly, reluctantly throwing himself into their nearly-silent and barely non-violent battle.

He knew it was never a good idea to get himself between them when they were fighting, but he didn't want them to start trying to kill each other either. Ultear must have pressed a lot of Erza's buttons because she was _very_ red in the face. And it was Erza who turned to him.

"Yes! Everything is fine! Come on, let's go find this Anima-thingy already!" Erza said in sharp, crisp tones as she stalked over to the blue-haired prince, grabbed his wrist in one hand and dragged him after her, heading straight for the lowest, center-most room of the palace.

Ultear hung back a little to bask in her smugness. "No, she doesn't like him. She _looooooves_ him! ! !" Ultear squealed in excitement and spun around a couple times in an effort to get as much energy out of her system as possible before calming herself down and hurrying after them.

They would not have been in such a hurry to go down there if they knew what would happen as a result.

()()()()()()()()

"Alright, there's no-one in here. Get in before we're found hovering at the door," Erza whispered after taking a peak into the room before urging her friends in before her, pushing Ultear when she felt she wasn't being quick enough.

The room they had just entered was nothing special. It looked just like a normal, stone-and-wood-made laboratory setup, complete with cabinets all along the walls, long tables with complicated-looking drawings, equations, and possible blueprints (they were blue – what else could they be?). But there was a room beyond this one on the opposite side of the doorway where they stood and there was no door to block their view. They couldn't see much, but they did see a bright, bluish light emanating from the room. Jellal took off towards the doorway opening before Erza could even give him a word of caution and he stared transfixed at the other room once he reached the entrance way. Naturally, Erza smacked him upside the head for running off on her like that and not being careful, but she too, was awed by the sight.

The room was very tall and apparently very deep as well. On both sides of the stone path, the ground dropped far below into some kind of foggy mist. They couldn't even make out the bottom. The ceiling stretched upwards too, probably just as high as the bottom was deep because he couldn't find the ceiling either. The path for the doorway was made of stones, but Jellal couldn't tell how thick they were or what was keeping the path up because _something_ had to be! Ultear, who had appeared next to him on his right side, grabbed his arm just as he'd made up his mind to cross the path.

"It's too dangerous for _you _to attempt to cross first, Jellal," she said with a shake of her head and before he could stop her, she had placed her left foot on the path and moved her right foot next to it.

She was standing on the stone path and nothing happened. Jellal breathed a sigh of relief only to squeal in terror in the next breath because Ultear had just _jumped_ on said path. Erza unexpectedly burst into laughter immediately after and couldn't stop even after Ultear had grinned at him over her shoulder and declared the path 'safe for royal passing'.

"Erza, what...?"

"Oh, it's not..." she began, but collapsed into hysterics again, "Sorry! I'm sorry! Jellal, you just... that scream was just so girly!" she finally gasped out and dissolved into further laughter while Jellal sweatdropped.

"I'll never have your respect, will I?" Jellal asked Erza with a resigned sigh.

"Not necessarily," Erza said with a smile that set his heart aflutter. "Come on. Let's go to the end of this path," she suggested as she grabbed his hand and led him out onto the stone path with complete confidence.

There wasn't anything at the end of the path, but they could better see the bluish-white glowing orb of light that was held up by a bunch of mechanical-looking tubes that stretched far up into the ceiling. And surrounding it were five giant, robed statues with the arms spread out above the heads as if bestowing a gift upon the glowing orb.

"It sure is pretty, whatever it is," Jellal whispered, "I don't suppose you know what it is, do you Erza?"

"Your guess is as good as mine if not worse," Erza said with a shrug.

Ultear allowed herself a moment to pretend that the glowy orb was a full moon and that her two friends were watching the starry night sky in the pale moonlight, side-by-side, hands clasped- but that was off-topic! Sorta. They _hadn't_ let go of each others' hands yet, but they weren't here to explore those lovebirds' blooming romance. They were here to find out the secret of this Anima thing.

"Hey, you two! We came here with a mission remember?" she called out to her friends and returned to the main room, "We should probably be looking for blueprints or something similar as they may contain notes on them."

"Geez, why can't adults make things just a little smaller?" Jellal complained after he and Erza had followed after Ultear and climbed up onto one of the stools so that he would be able to see what was on the table.

"One of these days, we won't have to worry about physical obstacles like this," Erza grumbled in agreement from the stool beside him.

"You two..." Ultear chuckled as she pulled a large blue sheet close to her, "Well, who'd have guessed? Even these are blue."

"Well, duh, they're blue, or they wouldn't be called _blue_prints," Erza said with a smirk, "And doesn't blueprints just sound better than say... pinkprints?"

Jellal snorted with laughter, "They _look_ better too."

"Excuse me! Less chatter, more searching!" Ultear said pointedly, "We _are_ doing this on _your_ behalf, Jellal."

"Please," Jellal snorted, "I bet you were just _itching_ for an excuse to come down here!"

"Who? Me? ! Never!" Ultear said with a feigned look of shock and then laughed.

"Jellal. Ultear. Take a look at this. It says something about 'lacrimas'. It might be important to what we're looking for!" Erza said urgently as she grabbed a sheet and pushed it to her friends.

It was a small page and especially ragged on one side like there had been more to the page before it was torn. There _was_ more to the page than just 'lacrimas'; there were also drawings and other words written around them in a way reminiscent of some type of diagram with footnotes and labels. The problem was that all of the words were written in _shomi_, the highly-stylistic, formal language of the learned elite. Royalty and nobility, they may be, but they were only 11 and 13 years old and _shomi_ was immensely more complicated than _nebune_ which they had been speaking and writing as soon as they were old enough. In fact, the only reason that Erza had recognized the word 'lacrima' so quickly was because the word was the same in both languages. Maybe they would have been able to figure out the words if they had half a clue what the sheet was talking about or even the full sheet, but as they were, they were stumped even when they put their heads together with their broken-up knowledge of the _shomi_ language.

"Argh, I can't make any sense of this!" Jellal complained openly as he grabbed his hair in frustration, "'lacrima'', '-traction', 'conversion', '-el', and '-land' is all we can get out of this."

"You forgot 'magic source' in that string of words," Erza point out dryly before, but her own frustration was just as apparent in her tone.

"And this is obviously a picture of a lacrima," Ultear sighed as she fingered the crystal drawing, "but we have no idea how it fits in with this weird rock device up here," she pointed to half the drawing at the top of the page, "or this... thing down here," she added, pointing to another half drawing at the bottom of the page.

"It doesn't seem like we're going to be able to figure out what this 'Anima' is without someone to explain it to us," Jellal concluded and all three of them gave a frustrated sigh.

They knew what that meant. If they started asking adults about 'Anima', then they would wonder where they'd heard the word and that could get them into just as much trouble as being caught down here in this central, underground room that was connected to the 'Anima'... somehow. They'd hit a dead-end.

"Well, we've found out all we could from here. Let's get going before somebody finds us," Jellal said in a subdued manner and hopped down from his seat, but didn't get very far because Erza had just grabbed his arm. "What is-?"

"Shh! Listen," Erza whispered urgently and he did.

At first, he heard nothing out of the ordinary, but then his blood ran cold when he'd realized what she'd heard. Voices. And not just _any_ voices either. They belonged to Byro and his father. He froze up. He wasn't even mentally-aware that Erza and Ultear were dragging him towards one of the empty cabinets along the wall until they were shoving him inside, and then he helped them out with that. Then the two of them piled in after him. They weren't very tall or deep, the cabinets, but they had a good deal of width. They only hoped that there would be no reason for either the king or his right-hand man to go in their particular cabinet. Just because it was empty didn't mean that they were in the clear just yet. Ultear had just closed the cabinet door behind her when they could finally discern what Faust and Byro were saying and their voices no longer echoed off of the tunnel-like passage that led down to the 'Anima' room. They were close. They were coming.

"What's the most-recent status update on the Anima project?" Faust asked.

"The geographical coordination system has been fine-tuned and it can now absorb magic from anywhere in our parallel world," Byro responded in his nasally, sleazy voice.

"Ah good, that's some good news," Faust said happily, an emotion that Jellal thought his father incapable of, "Now we'll be able to pull magic energy from anywhere in Earthland. How has the rest of it progressed?"

"Not as smoothly nor as quickly as you would like, my Lord," Byro responded in full honesty, though slightly uneasy, "The Anima portals are still far too small to absorb anything bigger than a full-grown badger and the conversion process is still an inefficient mess. We caught some flying fish from Earthland in the last test run, but they were still only half-converted into lacrimas even after we adjusted the calibration and the voltage input." There was a rustling of papers. "See? Here's the data comparisons between the five tests with the corresponding adjustments."

"Yes, I see," Faust said slowly in a most-calculatory tone, "Well, what about the quality of the lacrima portions we _did_ acquire?" he growled and Jellal shivered.

"100% pure magic!" Byro said with a glow of smug pride in his voice, "I even personally oversaw the testing and made the lab hands check the entire lacrima crystal for any impurities in case they skipped out and reported falsely. The magic was as clean as newly-fallen snow, purer than any lacrima ever obtained from the mines, even after being processed."

"100%..." Faust said softly and though Jellal could see nothing in the absolute darkness of the cabinet, Jellal could just imagine that scheming look in his father's eyes, "Anything else to report?"

"Other than that the Reverse function works perfectly in reverse of what the Anima is currently capable of, no matter how much it's altered? We tested the Reverse Anima on a couple test subjects from Earthland and when they'd returned, they had completely reconverted back to their normal forms."

"Very well," Faust said with a slight sigh, "If we are to successfully complete the Anima project, then all aspects of it must be complete. We don't want our 'Magic Knight' to lose its 'honor'."

Jellal would have gasped aloud had Erza and Ultear not immediately covered his mouth and given him very fervent nods of understanding. They now knew what 'Anima' meant too, just like he did. 'Anim' was the words for 'knight' in _shomi_ while 'ma' was the words for magic and the reason it didn't go before 'anim' (making 'Manim') was because 'magic' was identified as a noun in this instance instead of as an adjective, hence 'Anima'. Now that he thought about it, Jellal didn't realize _why_ he hadn't realized that 'lacrima' literally meant 'magic crystal'. If 'magic' was taken to be used as a noun, then the same rule applied.

Well, they had accomplished their goal of figuring out what 'Anima' was, in the very literal sense of the words, as well as learning of its purpose. He was right in that Anima was about replenishing the rapidly-depleting magic and in his hunch... about his father's lack of morality in acquiring it from other sources. He was... He was killing other living beings just to acquire magic power! He was worried about what they were going to do about the disappearing resource as much as any citizen of Edolas, but nothing... _nothing_ was worth the cost of innocent lives, no matter what! The very thought that he was related to someone like that made him feel violently-sick and he started feeling dizzy. Ultear's and Erza's faces, what little he could see of them in the dark cabinets, were swimming in- and out-of-focus and then he pitched forward so suddenly that he crashed into Ultear and she accidentally let loose a squeak as she fell into the cabinet with a solid thud.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, I heard it too, Byro. The sound of rats snooping around where they don't belong," Faust said dangerously and two sets of footsteps became rapidly-louder.

The three children were breathless and paralyzed with terror and didn't dare make a noise, but those footsteps came closer still, right up to the cabinet doors with deafening loudness. Their silence meant nothing now. They had slipped up once too much and they were going to pay for it; they knew this as the cabinet doors creaked open and light slowly flooded into their revealed hiding place. The first one they saw was Byro, not surprising in any sense that he had opened the cabinet (both as the king's righthand man and being about physically eye-level with the tabletop to begin with), but he was grinning wickedly at them with a measure of malicious intent that did not bode well for them. Even worse than that, if that were possible (and it was), was the tall, towering figure of Jellal's father looming darkly over Byro as he gazed down with silent, seething wrath at the three miscreant children.

"It's just as I said Byro..." Faust said dangerously after a moment's silence, "Rats that have been caught snooping around in places they shouldn't be must be dealt with severely."

Whatever illusion of safety Jellal _might_ have retained shattered in an instant.

* * *

><p><em>And all this taking place at the age of 11, at the same age of Earthland Erza and Jellal when the Tower of Heaven rebellion broke out and when Jellal got brainwashed by Ultear. Important age, eleven, yes? *intentionally-planned it that way*<em>

_Okay, yeah, I don't know what I was thinking when I went all-out in the one paragraph about the technicalities of a language I made up that nobody cares about. I wrote it when I was in Canada, so I blame the sun for cooking my brain a little (because I __**was**__ outside in the sun when I wrote it)._


	7. Never the Same

**Never the Same**

The light tapping on the small window quickly stirred the prince from his crouched, protective position in the chair. His head perked up and he bolted from the chair to the window on the opposite side of the room. With a practiced jump, he grabbed the window ledge and hauled himself up, coming face-to-face with the furred face of Pantherlily, the only faced he'd seen within four days.

"My Prince, how have you been holding up?" Pantherlily asked.

"Same as yesterday evening the last time you asked?" Jellal suggested with a shrug.

Pantherlily's brow furrowed and Jellal cringed under his intense gaze. He wasn't about to tell Lily that he was fine, because he was anything, _but_ that. He hadn't seen a single human face since he, Erza, and Ultear had been found in the Anima room. His father had dragged him up by the scruff of his shirt collar and thrown him in his room, locking him in for, what had now been, four straight days. He was alone, more than he had ever been before, and absolutely terrified. Pantherlily knew this all too well; had known it since the first time he appeared at the prince's window and the poor boy had cried himself to sleep, he was so terrified and relieved. Contact had been forbidden with the prince, but as soon as Pantherlily had seen the boy's stricken state, he knew it was an order that he could not comply with and continued to secretly visit the prince regardless. However, the terror the prince felt wasn't... _completely_ for himself.

"Have you heard any news on Erza or Ultear?" the prince asked worriedly and it broke the giant Exceed's heart to see that crestfallen face every time he shook his head. He asked him every time he saw him.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong, my prince," Pantherlily shook his head, but the prince violently shook his head in protest.

"No, they would have been seen and asking about me by now if they were alright," Jellal said with certainty, "Something's wrong. Something's _seriously_ wrong."

The first two days, it was easy enough to convince the prince that the girls were fine even if nobody had seen them, but by now, it was impossible to convince him otherwise. They had simply been gone too long.

"Lily, please...," the prince said suddenly and gripped the Exceed's paw with a look that completed his sentence: 'find them quickly'.

"I'll do my best, my prince. Have you been fed well enough?"

"Well enough," Jellal assured him, but he didn't quite sound sincere. Pantherlily didn't press it.

"Keep your strength, my prince," Pantherlily said with a bow of his head and flew away back into the palace before he was missed by anyone significant.

After Jellal lost sight of him, he dropped back down to the ground, loneliness already starting to sink back into his bone marrow. This confinement was taking its toll on him both emotionally _and_ physically. His stomach released an audible growl and he whimpered as he curled back into his spot in the chair. He wasn't eating the amount of food he was used to receiving, but he _was_ eating enough for someone who was being punished. He deserved it, he knew it, and yet somehow, it didn't seem fair. It was _his_ idea and _his_ fault that they had disobeyed and were down there to begin with, but _he_ was merely put under solitary confinement and it was only because he was the heir, nothing else, because solitary confinement as a punishment was insufficient to satisfy the murderous wrath in his father's eyes. Ultear and Erza were taking the punishment in his place and it was all his fault. That Pantherlily couldn't find them was even more worrying. Jellal shivered again and wrapped his arms tightly around his propped-up legs.

"Erza... Ultear..." Jellal mumbled into his knees, "Please be okay."

()()()()()()()()

_3 days later..._

Jellal's ears perked up slightly when he heard the metallic clanking sound of a key being inserted into a slot and the _thunk_ of the locking bar being forcefully slid back into the door. It was immediately followed by the soft creaking of the door hinges as the door opened outward and the formidable figure of his father stood in the open doorway.

"You can come out now, Jellal," Faust said, his gravelly voice echoing off the walls.

Jellal climbed off his chair and approached his father slowly. Fearfully. Until he stood before him, but he didn't dare raise his head and meet his father's gaze, not unless he wanted to incite his father's wrath once more.

"So, you're ready to follow the rules again, Jellal?" Faust asked, his tone gleeful and mocking, "Good. You may look upon me once more."

Jellal's eyes slowly traveled up until they met with his father's and he didn't like what he saw. They were glittering with malice and madness. Faust stepped aside and Jellal watched him carefully until he was fully out of the room and a good five feet away from his father before he took off on his own in search of his two female friends. He ran through the corridors yelling their names, but he got no response and there was still no sign of them. After several minutes running around with no success for his efforts, he paused to think a moment and then headed for Ultear's room, the closest of the two from where he currently was. When he arrived, the door was closed, which didn't surprise him and he knocked on the wood.

"Ultear? It's me, Jellal; can I come in?"

There was no answer and Jellal frowned in puzzlement. Was she not there? No, not necessarily; she might be sleeping and just hadn't heard him, but somehow, he didn't think so.

"Ultear, I'm opening the door now!" Jellal called loudly as he turned the handle and opened the door.

The lights were off and he didn't see anyone inside. Nothing looked out-of-place though. Maybe she'd already been by and he had just missed her leaving. He entered into the room and gazed around just to be sure. It'd be embarrassing if he missed her just because he hadn't searched her room properly. She'd never let him live it down. Even after searching though, Jellal could safely conclude that she wasn't there when he noticed something... odd about her desk. There seemed to be something on it. That, or it wasn't as shiny as he'd remembered. He strode over to the desk and touched it with his right forefinger. There was _something_ here! It felt fine, but a little grainy on his skin and he withdrew it, leaving a clean shiny streak of wood where he'd touched it and he suddenly knew what the stuff on his finger was. It was dust. Jellal could feel his panic rising for Ultear was always doing _something_ at her desk so it never had a chance to get dusty, but he fought to squelch it.

Just because there was dust on Ultear's desk didn't mean there was anything _wrong_! Maybe Ultear just hadn't come back to her room yet. Perhaps she was hanging out in Erza's room before she returned to her own she liked to do that. However, this trip to Ultear's room had confirmed something for Jellal. Ultear hadn't been in her room for quite a while and it was reasonable to assume that Erza hadn't been to her room for just as long. Jellal closed Ultear's door behind him and sprinted down to Erza's room as fast as he could.

"Erza? Erza, are you in there? It's me, Jellal, may I come in?" he asked loudly as he banged on Erza's door once he'd arrived.

The door opened slightly and Jellal saw Erza's hazel eyes peering at him from behind the slit. "Jellal," she said, her voice slightly monotone.

"Ah, thank goodness you're here," Jellal breathed with relief, "Is Ultear with you? I can't seem to find her anywhere."

Erza's eyes widened and her pupils shrunk. "Ultear..." she breathed and then her eyes narrowed, glaring at Jellal. "Ultear...! You...!" He couldn't see her very well in the darkness of her room or the semi-darkness of the corridors, but he could see that she was quivering... quivering with rage! "Jellal...! Ultear...! You...! !"

The door suddenly slammed into Jellal with such force that he was thrown backward and blood gushed from his nose. His nose was in so much pain that he could have sworn it was broken and he just knew that he was going to have an ugly black bruise on his ribs where the door knob had hit him when yet another force squashed his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He'd barely had time to register what had done so when two shaking hands seized the front of his shirt and he was confronted with a livid Erza.

"_Don't you dare! !_" she screamed in his face, spraying him with spittle, "Don't you _dare_ speak her name! !"

"Erza, what are-? !"

"It's you!" she continued, completely overshouting him and emptying all her lung power into her raging scream, "It's your fault! Ultear's dead! You killed her! ! ! It's your fault she's dead! ! !"

Jellal felt like he'd been dropped into an ice-cold pool. "No, she... She can't bee...!" Jellal stammered, but Erza violently shook her head, her teeth gnashing together.

"She _is_! !" she bellowed and slammed Jellal's head into the hard stone floor below. Jellal saw her smile slightly when he let out a pained yelp at the brutal blow. "I saw it, I was there! _My best friend was murdered right before my eyes_! ! ! And it's your fault! You're the reason she's dead! You killed her! If it weren't for you, Ultear would still be alive! ! What do you have to say for yourself! ?"

There was nothing he could say and he was paralyzed with the truth. Ultear was dead- no, killed. And it was his fault. Erza was right. He didn't deny, internally, that this whole thing smelled like his father's dirty work, but at the heart of it, it didn't matter because it _was_ his fault. If it hadn't been for him and his blind curiosity about the Anima in the forbidden, underground chambers, then his father never would have been given the chance to plot anything and Ultear would still be alive. He was as much a murderer as his father.

"Say something, damn it!" Erza ordered and she shook him.

"It's my fault," Jellal muttered quietly, still reeling from this horrible revelation, "I killed her..."

There was a long silence from above excepting for Erza's ragged breathing before she finally threw him away from her and the weight was lifted off his stomach. He sat up in time to see her, including her heavily-bandaged arms and legs, disappear into her room before the door slammed shut and there was a smaller click immediately after. She had locked the door. She had locked it against _him_.

"My Prince!"

Jellal hastily sat up completely and smiled slightly when he saw the giant black Exceed heading his way, "Lily!"

Lily however became instantly disturbed and concerned when he saw the steady trickling of blood dripping out of the prince's nose. He immediately offered Jellal a handkerchief without question and advised him to pinch his nose right where the skull bones ended to close off the capillaries (little blood vessels close to the surface of his skin, apparently) before he even _allowed_ the prince to explain why he was covered in blood.

"It's nothing really," Jellal tried to reassure the big cat, "Just a nosebleed, that's all."

Pantherlily didn't believe him one bit.

()()()()()()()()

Jellal was certain that even if Ur had been told her daughter was _killed_, she wasn't told the truth about who the true murderers were. He had no idea who had told Ultear's mother the tragic news, but it hardly mattered in the end. Ur was so hysterical and distraught in a way that he had never seen or imagined and it scared him. She seemed o barely be holding herself together and she would break down sobbing at irregular intervals. The complete opposite of Erza who didn't cry and carried on with the day like a vehicle that was put on 'autopilot' function; nothing seemed to phase her. Jellal was upset about Ultear's death too, but even so, he could never imagine a situation where he was do depressed that he would want to kill himself. Two days after he had been released from his week-long confinement, Ur was found dead, sprawled across her bed and clutching a photo of her daughter. Poison, they said when the autopsy was performed, but Jellal didn't want to believe it and why should he? He was all for suspecting his father having a hand in Ur's death. He'd ordered Ultear's death, why not just finish off the remaining Bersos and tie up that loose end? But the problem was that he had no way to prove it and what would happen if he did? His father was the king after all. He could order anyone to be arrested or worse, executed if he so chose.

()()()()()()()

There _was_ a funeral, tiny as it was, for the Berso women, Ur and Ultear. It was held the very next day and they weren't even put into coffins. On the up side, they _were_ being buried next to each other. The holes had been dug since before the autopsy was completed and they'd already been put in the holes before the funeral started. It seemed that they were only here to witness the burial of the tarps, which had been placed over them to 'prevent further damage to the corpses' (Jellal suspected it was more to hide Ultear's grisly injuries, but it would look odd to only cover _her_ up and not Ur also). With every shovelful of dirt that was thrown upon either Ur or Ultear, Jellal flinched, remembering the last time he had been at a funeral... the last time he had watched someone being buried... It had been his mother and Erza's father. They had been a silent pair while Ultear had hugged them both around the shoulders. They had been holding each other's hand, supporting the other with all their soul while barely holding themselves together. Somehow, it had been enough, but now they were aloe and separate and as Jellal struggled to keep himself upright, he wondered if Erza was hurting inside like he was right now.

It was finally over and when Erza left the funeral immediately after it ended, Jellal followed right after her, Pantherlily close on his heels. She didn't stop no matter how many ties he called her name and he couldn't catch up to her, so he had to follow until she stopped. She eventually did and it was right outside her room, _then_ he finally caught up with her.

"Erza, wait!" he called out again, a note of panicked desperation in his voice and she hesitated. "Please..." he begged, though what exactly he was begging of her, even _he_ couldn't say.

She turned around and glanced at him over her shoulder, not saying anything. She didn't need to. Jellal could read the hurt, confusion, betrayal, and anger in her eyes. Whatever it was he was begging of her, it may already be too late. Then she turned away and closed the door behind her and the small 'click' of the lock turning resounded once more. Solid, finite, resolute.

If she hadn't been tortured under Faust's orders and fed lies of fault in her hysteric, broken state of mind, she would not have so readily blamed Jellal for Ultear's death and if he weren't so kind and self-sacrificing, he would not have so easily accepted the false blame, but that was how they were and how they'd been used. Now Erza was all, but lost to him. He had known it since Erza had told him of Ultear's death.

(Begin Flashback)

"It's nothing really," Jellal tried to reassure the big cat, "Just a nosebleed, that's all."

Before Pantherlily could even get a word in, a shrill, piercing cry split the air and resonated from behind Erza's locked door. It was a cry of pain, of the agony and terror she'd suffered, of the despair and helplessness she writhed in, of the betrayal and anger she felt at losing not one friend, but two. It was the cry of one powerless against the world that was taking everyone away from her one-by-one. That shrill, suffering scream lasted forever until she had no voice left to carry it and Jellal didn't need to press his ear against the door to hear the choking sobs that followed afterwards.

"It's just a nosebleed..." Jellal said quietly after a long silence, "It'll go away soon enough."

Both of them knew that Jellal wasn't _really_ talking about his nosebleed and Pantherlily didn't believe him one bit. He knew, and so did Jellal deep down, that those two children were forever changed by this tragedy.

(End Flashback)

They were forever changed... never the same...

* * *

><p><em>And thus starts the estrangement between Mystogan and Knightwalker and takes a drastic step forward in Knightwalker's "descent to the Dark Side". So that means... that the last chapter was the last time we'll ever see Edo-Ultear! T_T I feel so horrible, I loved her. But part of my reasoning for doing so is that she was believed to be dead in Earthland, so in this world, she would be <em>_**really**__ dead. Now whether Ur really __**did**__ suicide or not, I'll leave that up to __**you**__ to decide (since I won't come back to it – the scene served its purpose, I don't need to take it any further)._


End file.
